2015/10/01 by Palmira Faraci, Maria Teresa Triscari, Dario Catalisano +2 · 2 citations
Psychology · Health Professions · #Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research #Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout #Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
paper · pdf · doi:10.2147/ndt.s93401
openalex publication_date 2015/10/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The purpose of the research was to compare the effectiveness of the following treatment methods for fear of flying: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) integrated with systematic desensitization, CBT combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and CBT combined with virtual reality exposure therapy. Overall, our findings have proven the efficacy of all interventions in reducing fear of flying in a pre- to post-treatment comparison. All groups showed a decrease in flight anxiety, suggesting the efficiency of all three treatments in reducing self-report measures of fear of flying. In particular, our results indicated significant improvements for the treated patients using all the treatment programs, as shown not only by test scores but also by participation in the post-treatment flight. Nevertheless, outcome measures maintained a significant effect at a 1-year follow-up. In conclusion, combining CBT with both the application of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment and the virtual stimuli used to expose patients with aerophobia seemed as efficient as traditional cognitive behavioral treatments integrated with systematic desensitization.